so... Gma's the reason stuff started going downhill with the... well, not kidnapping, but the transformed run-away group? Dang. Even with the alien logic that comes with being a monster, I can tell Chitose went through some trauma with Reiko's reaction.

Karretch posted:

so... Gma's the reason stuff started going downhill with the... well, not kidnapping, but the transformed run-away group? Dang. Even with the alien logic that comes with being a monster, I can tell Chitose went through some trauma with Reiko's reaction.

The chapter starts with the girls in 1971 talking about the "houko". So it existed before. Grandma isn't responsible I think.

Also, I looked up about the communist thing and it looks like it's not talking about 1968 (since it's 1971), but about the internal strife in the 70s within the Zengakuren, a student movement affiliated with the Japan Communist Party at first.

Citing Wikipedia:

"Zengakuren split up into a large number of warring "sects" (sekuto), who would battle against each other at least as much as they battled against the police.[6] Arming themselves with construction helmets painted in the colors of their various factions and large wooden staves they called "violence sticks" (gebabō, from the German Gewalt),[7] the participated in a number of struggles throughout the 1960s and beyond".

That's why the radio is talking about "students without helmets". Probably not to be identified.

ooh this is really good. Love a well made manga about depression and that feeling of being fundamentally different from everyone else around you, and fascinatingly we've now seen it from both sides: different from all the mermaid people, and the mermaid left out because she's different from all the humans.

did the yuri tag disappeared? or it never existed? eh? I’m i loosing my memory or something?

did the yuri tag disappeared? or it never existed? eh? I’m i loosing my memory or something?

Haruna's chapter is still my favourite from this, it captures the feeling of growing up being the thing everyone warned you to stay away from and tried to hide from you because it's "bad" and how often some will try to deny being so themselves really well.

And really just the entire idea of watching yourself slowly turn into something you never expected to, how unfair it is that you're the one going through it while everyone else seems fine and are never going to be the thing, is very relatable. She was never going to be able to fit in, you can do everything you can to hide from your kids that those things exist, try to beat it out of them, but it'll never cease to exist and it'll only keep coming back.
Then your feelings slowly changing, until they become something "vile" in the eyes of an outsider, when for you it's just something natural that you need to survive. Although it's justified this time for there to be a fear of them because they seem to eat humans, the act of eating humans itself is not evil and Haruna's state at the end was like she was still stuck with things that are harmful for her being (wanting to conform) when the fish mindset is her natural. The fear when those changes started to happen, the loneliness of not being able to tell anyone about it and not being able to do a thing about it... But no matter what, there was no way of keeping the things that made her think she was safe (even if it was the sort of safety that comes from knowing what will happen) from being destroyed, even if she tried to hide it and control her instincts, she would have starved to death for the sake of others that wouldn't ever dare to give her the same amount of thought.
Even if this was caused by someone else, that's still punishing what could be seen as a victim.

Yeah puberty ruined my life

Is it just for me or is page 33 of chapter 7 missing?

Okkkk I finally figured out what is happening here.

Ichika was gay, she did something and her mother got rid of her to start a new family, leaving here in an “inaka” town. The mermaid is kinda this freedom monster (no other word for it). Ichika is legitimately suicidal, the mermaid comes and saves her by helping her come out.
She develops a relationship with the mermaid.

Satsuki is interested in going out to the real world, the neighboring town. You can tell that Ichika is not really into leaving the town but Satsuki really wants to go. Chitose boards the bus and tells satsuki not to leave, and Ichika of course agrees letting Satsuki know it’s best where they are. This is because bigots exist outside the city.

Now we come to Haruna. She seems to come from a town very close to chitose’s town. The people there call her a new name and that saying it is dangerous to just ignore it. But back in chitose’s town Ichika and Satsuki actually interact with her.

Haruna is spiraling because her community is imposing rules and such, it causes Haruna to slowly turn into a monster because she’s basically suffocating. Chitose could have taken her to her bubble town but because society had a strangle on her, she became a closeted self loathing, thing.

So yes Chitose is terrifying but also she’s helping some of the girls. It’s mentioned that some are in-between mermaid and human and Id need to read more to understand what that means but I think this is basically the jist of the manga.

Interesting and insightful analysis! I never considered that before, but I always felt confused or uneasy after reading each chapter, which kept me from analyzing it deeply. If the story is really as you interpreted it, then Fuyumushi Kaiko might be one of the most thought-provoking manga authors out there.

In this chapter, I noticed that one of the teachers sometimes had her eyes closed or simply not drawn. At first, I thought she might be an insignificant character, as some mangakas do with side characters by not drawing their eyes. However, even the parents, who didn't play a major role in this chapter, had their eyes drawn, although their eyes appeared to be blinded by the mermaid. This made me wonder if the teacher with the closed eyes has some connection to the mermaid. When the mermaid appeared in the schoolyard, Hayase asked, "Don’t you have any measures to drive it out?" and the closed-eyed teacher responded, "Don’t worry about this, it’s fine." This short response makes me think that the teacher and the mermaid may have made a deal to not involve the children or something similar. (idk Just a prediction Based on this) I think Hayase's character might appear again in another chapter, since the concept of the mermaid wasn’t fully involved in this one, aside from her brief appearance and the girl being called a fish. oh well best to wait for the next chapter :P

Is it just for me or is page 33 of chapter 7 missing?

No?

Mermaid didn't show up much this chapter, felt sorry for the teacher. At least she got a nice little fishie at the end.

Kids are innocently cruel.